Process of shoe manufacture



S. C. WILSON.

PROCESS OF SHOE MANUFACTURE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 25. 1918.

Patented Aug. 1, 1922.

2 SHEETSSHEET l- S. C. WILSON.

PROCESS OF SHOE MANUFACTURE.

APPLICATION flLED APR.25, 1918.

194M345, Patented Aug. 1, 1922 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

'I l/ A,

UNllll'Efi STTES RATENT OWNER.

SIDNEY C. WILSON, OF PENN YAN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO WILSON PROCESS, INCOR- PORATED, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PROCESS OF SHOE MANUFACTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patent-ed Aug. ll, 1922.

Application filed April 25, 1918. Serial No. 230,633.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIDNEY C. WILSON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Penn Yan, in the county of Yates and State of 'New York, have invented an Improvement in Processes of Shoe Manufacperforming the finishing operations on the shoe. The term making is here used in the sense in Which it is employed in the trade to designate those operations by which the upper and the shoe bottomare permanently secured togetherand the shoe is made ready for the finishing operations. [In the performance of certain of these making operations it is necessary to have the stock in temper; thatis in the condition in which it contains suflicient moisture or some other softening agent to keep it soft and pliable. It is found, however, that even if the stock is in temper when the shoe is assembled, it hardens rapidly during the process of manufacturing, and it usually is necessary to perform several tempering operations on the shoe or parts thereof before the making operations are completed. It is one of the cliief objects of this invention to improve the processes of manufacturing shoes with a view to eliminating much of the trouble heretofore experienced in conditioning'the stock for the manufacturing operations.

The invention is also concerned particularly with the rocesses of manufacturing shoes I of the cKay type. The usual method of manufacturing shoes of this construction is to assemble an insole and an upper on a last, last the upper over upon the outer face of the insole, and secure it in this position by tacks which are driven through the upper and insole and clinched at the inner face of the insole. The outsole is then laid, the shoe is removed from the last, and the upper, insole and outsole' are then secured together by sewing. The shoe is then heeled, and finally the finishing operations are performed on it.

While this type of shoe has many merits which are well recognized by those skilled 1n this art, as, for instance, the fact that it can be manufactured very economically and that a stronger inseam can be made in it When a relatively poor insole is used than in other types of shoes, it is also open to certain rather serious objections, such as the fact that the bottom is relatively stiff and in flexible, due partly to the presence of the clinched lastin tacks, and also that it is much less comt ortable than other types of shoes, due both to the presence of the inseam stitches on the inner surface of the insole and also to the fact that the lasting tacks are liable to work up as the shoe becomes worn and make themselves exceedingly troublesome. It is therefore a very important object of this invention to so improve the process of manufacturing McKay shoes that these objections above noted will be substantially eliminated, and to enable the last is withdrawn and the permanent stitching is inserted. Heretofore in the making of McKay shoes the lasting process has been performed either by clinching the lasting tacks on a metal plate, or by not using any lasting tacks Whatever,.rely1ng on lacing, cementing or the like. In my process I employ the lasting tacks, but only drive them temporarily into'the insole and last, carrying out exactly the process, and preferably with the machines, used in making welt shoes, wherein the lasting tacks are removed, after the inseaming operation. My shoe relies upon the through and through or McKay stitching only for its permanent sole attaching means, and not upon a plurality of such stitching, i. e., both inseam and outseam, as in Welt shoe manufacture. By my present process the lasted upper and insole are temporarily held together for the short time required to remove the lasting tacks, withdraw the last, and put in the permanent stitching which extends through and through both insole, upper materials and outsole. Thus I am enabled to carry olut my process of making a tackless MpKay s we.

The manner in which it is proposed to accomplish these objects will be readily understood from the following description and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the accompanying drawm s,

Fig. l is an angular view of a last which preferably is employed, in, practising the process of this invention;

Fig. 2 is an angular view of an insole prepared for incorporation in a shoe;

Fig. 3 is an angular view of the shoe after it has been partially lasted;

F ig. 4 is a transverse cross sectional view through the forepart of the shoe shown in Fig. 3on the line 44, Fig. 3, and showing the parts on a larger scale than in Fig. 3; i

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional View similar to Fig. 4: but showing the shoe at a later stage in the process of manufacture; and

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional View showing the shoe after the stitching operation has been completed.

In carrying out the process of-this invention a last preferably'is employed of the type disclosed in my co-pending' application" filed of even date herewith. This last is of the construction shown inFigs. l and and is unique in that its sole supporting face is centrally recessed to receive a layer 3 of felt or similar moisture-retaining material. Surrounding this central cover ing 3 of felt is a marginal face 4 of suitable width to receive the la'sting tacks.- The last also is provided with the usual anvil plate '5 at the heel seat against which the heel seat nails can be clinched.-

The insole 6 is fitted for incorporation in a shoe by channelling it, as indicated at 7,

Fig. 2, to receive the inseam, turning back the channel flaps 8' and coatin these flaps with some suitable cement insole-is then placed on the last, 2 with the channelled 7 face of the insole against the bottomjface of the last as clearly shown in Fig; 4, the iii; sole being held on the last by tacks 9. The

upper 10 of the shoe, the various' 'parts of which have previously been sewed together in the usual way, is next plaeed'on the last: and is held on the last by a tack 11. This completes the assembling operationsand the shoe is now ready for the making oper ations. i I

The first of the latter operations consists in lasting theshoe and this performed by hand or with the aid of the known commercial machines. or the pur- PQSQ 'f ducingmanufacturing costs and makinguse of the commercial machines process may 1 be chine with which the operatives are familiar, it is proposed to depart from the usual method of lasting McKay shoes and to perform this operation in two steps in the same general manner that welt shoes are lasted at the present time. That. is, by performinf nary lasting operations at the toe part of.

the shoe and they have means for simul taneously grasping the upper at a plurality of points around the toe, pulling thislp'or tion of'the upper into lasted position, and; driving several tacks through the upper and lnsole to secure the upper' in this 'pos'itionl:

In Fig; 3 five such tacks 12 are'sho'wn at the toe'portion of the's'hoe; I heel lasting operations ma then be per formed on theusiialhand method-lasting machme which operates in a"'step by" step The side and} manner around the shoe,the shoe being in handsofthe Workman. This mapre'ferably is set to drivethe tacks in front' of the heel seat, which are indicatedat 13, onl partially into the shoe so that they may later be pulled out; but the 14' at tho heel seat are driven; in firmly and clinched against the anvil plate 5. -Berare the lasting" operation is started the; lower marginal portion of the upper is to 'be lasted over upon the bottom face" of the insole is coated w'ith a suitable cement or other a hesive compound as, indiea' i at 15, ig. '3, and the margin ofithebotto face of the insolemay also coated atthis Figs.

time if desired? and 4; hqw the after the lasting operation nd e ba 'edmarg n p rtic e of as, u .1

Pe a beea a e masses maria s;

the outer faceof the insole areund the en e d 67 1 the le h hoe .19We to rest; or several hours in order t becogne set or conformed the last and, to glYQ the cement or other ad esiye compound that? securesthe margin of he upper tgtl'ie sole. noppc l eii e e he a ks frQa of. he h el. ea re hen m ma and, since ese tacks have been. only par-f l y driy n nit is. pe a i a an e): ead ly. pe fergned; 'T eout ole 1. Eigwhi a a e e des nedg sg h' n l hat, atmnqmnly. ecured q h bat e Qt e so and h' i rle dnpper y. Q meatfi ast s .9 wlthdrawn orr rthe shoe leaving thes 0e. in the conditl n shown in Fig. 5 in whiehiit t mmed Qa tas-i is ready for the inseaming operation. This operation may be performed by hand or by any suitable McKay stitcher.

At this point it may be stated that an important feature of this process is the maintaining of the insole in temper while the making operations are being performed, so that when the shoe is removed from the last inreadiness for the stitching operation the insole will be in proper condition for this operation, and no re-tempering of the insole will be required. This function is performed by the felt cover 3 (although it is obvious that it might be performed by other means) it being merely necessary to moisten the felt member 3 thoroughly before the insole is secured to the last in the course of assembling the shoe. Since the outsole is in temper when it is laid, it is obvious that the shoe is ready for the stitching operation as soon as the last is pulled. Moisture also is supplied to the channel flap by the felt piece 3 so that this flap is maintained in suitable condition to be turned down over the stitches of the inseam as soon as the shoe has been sewed. Furthermore, the provision of the felt covering under the channel flap affords a cushion for the flap and mechanically protects it against breaking during the making operations. Immediately after the shoe has been sewed to make the inseam 17 Fig. ,6, the channel flap 8 is turned down over the stitches of the inseam, the cement on the flap having been maintained in a tacky, adhesive condition during-the entire process of making the shoe by the moisture supplied to the adhesive coated face by the felt cover 3. The channel flap therefore can be turned down in its final position as shown in Fig. 6 without any preliminary tempering operation and because of being in a very soft and pliable condition there is no danger of breaking the lip during the channel laying process. The outsole channel fiap is then turned down, the heel is attached to the shoe, and the finishing operations are performed in any desired manner.

It will now be evident that the process devised by this invention produces an improved shoe construction in which all the advantages of the McKay shoe as now constructed are retained while the disadvantages due to the presence of the lasting tacks in the shoe are eliminated. At the same time the step of suppling a tempering agent to portions of the interior of the shoe while the making operations are being erformed effects a saving both in the elimination ,of injury, which otherwise might result to the parts of the shoe that are thus kept in a soft and pliable condition, and in avoiding the necessity for retempering these portions of the shoe. The cushioning of the channel flap also reduces the liability of injury to this part of the shoe. This process produces a shoe having a smooth inner surface for I contact with the foot and one devoid of tacks or other metallic fastenings in front of the heel seat. lVhile the invention has been herein disclosed in connection with its application to a shoe of the McKay type, it is obvious that certain features of the process are equally applicable to other types of shoes, particularly welts and turns; and the term insole, therefore, is used herein. t0 designate not only the insole of a McKay or welt shoe but also the sole of a shoe of a turn or other type in which a single sole only is used.

I believe that my process of making shoes, as herein described, particularl the method of making a shoe of the Me ay type employing through and through stitching and eliminating all tacks throughout the forepart and shank, utilizing a wooden last without a tack-clinching plate or anvil on the forepart and shank and therefore utilizing a welt shoe pulling-over and lasting machine, is a distinct novelty and of great advantage and I wish to claim the same broadly. This process results in the manufacture of the shoe embodying all the advanta es, economies, and strength incident to a cKay shoe type together with the manufacturing advantages, better lasting and fitting qualities, and flexibilit of a welt shoe type producing a tackless cKay shoe which is claimed in my said co-pending ap lication.

il hat is claimed as new, is: -1. That improvement in the process of manufacturing shoes, which consists in channeling an insole, turning back the channel flap, assembling said insole and an upper on a wooden last with the channeled face of the insole next to the bottom'face of the last flap, and performingthe making operations on the shoe.

2. That improvement in the process of manufacturing McKay shoes, which consists in channeling an. insole on its inner face for the reception of the inseam, turning back the channel flap, assembling said insole and an upper on a last, working the upper into lasted position on the outerface of the insole, cementing the lasted upper in said position on the outer face of the insole, applying removable lastin tacks to hold the lasted upper, removing t e last, running the supplying a tempering agent to the channel inseam in said channel to secure the outsole,

insole and upper together, turning the channel flap down over the inseam and securing it in said position, and then completing the manufacture of the shoe in any desired manner.

3. The improved process of making a tackless McKay shoe, which consists in providing a last having a recess to receive, conmghrpu x the utsqle. 1pm and; in-

e. me d. t

31 la g he shginkan e m rgiealfpq' iqnmi. hank meme 4. 8 nepaxt. wh leh nsole flap is still turned; outwardly, then. turning down the insole flapand completing the shoe.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my 15 ngmetq this specification, in the presence of tWQ subscribing witnesses.

SIDNEY 0., mew W tnes e D; J UN Hnwem W, QQ 

